Cat Taylor: – A complete race in wild and varied terrain

Cat Taylor has had big success in 2015 – with two top 6 result at the World Champs on home ground and a World Cup victory at the very end of the season. Her favourite course this year was a long and tough one!

Read on for a long interview with Cat Taylor. This interview is part of the “Course of the Year 2015″ contest organized by World of O. In the introduction article you can suggest YOUR favourite course for “Course of the Year 2015″ – there are prizes to be won worth more than 2500 Euro.

Q:  What was the best course you run in 2015 – and why?

I have to choose the Long at WOC. It seems at the moment that for major international races there are many constraints in order to make the races more fun to watch, like many TV controls, arena starts or passages, but here it was great that the course was minimally affected by these – the last km or so was an easy approach to the finish but before that it was a complete race in wild and varied terrain, with the long legs being the most important. No path running and I hardly saw anyone in the forest! It was a bit of an organisational nightmare to place the start where it was but I think most people were pleased that the orienteering challenge came first.

Map 2: WOC Long: Gueorgiou and Bobach ta..

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Q: What was the most interesting orienteering terrain you run in in 2015 – and why?

I was lucky to visit a lot of different challenging and interesting terrain during 2015. I found some real challenges in Croatia and Slovenia, on training camp with OK Linne. The karst especially makes both route choices and execution difficult and it made it added to the physical challenge that the ground was really rocky and uneven. Really different from anything in the UK or Sweden and I still feel like a beginner in those forests.

Lipica Open 2015 Day 5 - W21E

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Kvarner Bay Challenge 2015 Day 2 - W21E

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Q: What is the worst course you ran in 2015?

This was a tough question. Setting courses is almost always voluntary work, so I’m reluctant to criticize anyone’s project too harshly! In the end I had to cheat a bit and go for a course I didn’t quite run myself, as a contrast to my “best course” nomination; having been there on the day, I know that a lot of people were disappointed with the Sprint Final at WOC this year. Despite (or maybe because of?) a whole team checking and advising the courses, I think the balance still went a little too much in favour of safe simplicity rather than being exciting and challenging. In contrast to the Long, it seems there was compromise to the technical challenge! Of course the result was valid and fair but maybe in the future it would be more fun wih some adjustments, especially when sprint runners are so good at their theorectical preparations!

WOC Sprint Final Women

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Q: What is the most interesting course you ran (or saw) in your own home country in 2015?

I’ll look outside WOC for this one. I really enjoyed the middle distance at the JK Festival in NW England. It was fun that there were so many terrain changes for the runner to manage and you could never let you concentration slip. I got caught out a bit in a few places (including the open hill!) but it was still really enjoyable.

JK Middle 2015 - Women

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Q: Did you set any courses in 2015? If so, is it possible to share the best (in your opinion) with World of O’s readers?

I’m part of OK Linne’s “training group”, some of the runners who take it in turns to organise training and set courses. So a few times each year I set club training. I do put thought into setting courses but don’t have the time to test-run and then adjust accordingly, like you would with a race, so sometimes the balance of the route choices doesn’t end up quite as I expected. I’ll share a night sprint training from winter in Sävja, also used for Swedish Championships qualification race. I was asked to make a “long sprint” and tried to make the most of the challenges on offer in the area without repeating anything from that race. I made some extra theoretical barriers but tried to make them more clearly visible than they can sometimes be in sprint (personal preference!)

Tour de Linné - Etapp 2

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Q: What is the most interesting route choice leg you saw from 2015?

I got completely stumped by the route choice at the World Cup Long in Arosa. Leg 3-4 was one of those choices where you need to make a big compromise whatever route you choose, so you need to be sharp enough to make the choice and then have the conviction to believe that it’s good enough. I had neither on the day! It was cool we had the same leg as the men, usually we miss out a little due when it comes to the big route choice legs, due to our course being so much shorter (see analysis here). I also remember looking at the Sprint race from JWOC and thinking I’d have problems finding the best routes quickly on both legs 1-2 and 3-4 (see analysis here). 

WC-Final 2015, Arosa - Long Distance Wom..

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JWOC sprintti

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Q: Can you tell a bit about yourself for those who don’t know you? 

I grew up in an orienteering family in northern England and decided when I was very young that I would like to orienteer at a high level. I had some big problems with illness and injury from age 15 to 20, so I missed a lot of training and races in these years and have been working ever since to “catch up”. I live in Uppsala, Sweden, where I’m very lucky to able to spend so much time on sport and to be part of a great training group. Now I’ve started to have some success in international races but feel there is so much I can still improve and lots more fun to be had. I hope to be healthy and enjoying elite orienteering for some more years.

Q: You had some great success in 2015 – can you give a few key factors for why you succeeded so well?

Before 2015 I had a winter with a lot of consistent training. I could maintain a good training volume and still get a lot from the important high-intensity sessions. But what was really important for WOC was that I prepared thoroughly and specifically for these races. This meant a lot of thought and specific training for the technical and physical aspects but also a big focus on the pressures and opportunities that come from running at home. With the help of many others I could plan and visualise enough to carry me through a demanding week with four successful races.

Q: What race are you looking forward to next year?

The forest at WOC (I’m not sure which distances I’ll run yet!) and Jukola. They’re highlights, for different reasons. But before both of those I’ve got some exciting camps and races planned. It’s a great luxury to have a new adventure most weeks and I’ll try to enjoy everything as it happens!

Q: What are your goals for 2016?

The races above, plus EOC and 10MILA are my main goals. Just now I’m in the middle of building a good base and in the new year I’ll introduce some more specific physical preparation. I won’t change too much about the way I train but I’ll try to start having a little more focus and specificity – I’ve always found motivation and energy to work hard but I think I need to work more effectively to keep improving and challenge for the top places.

Q: Thanks a lot for the interview!

Prizes from our Sponsors

Prizes from our Sponsors always makes it more fun! There will be a prize for the first one suggesting the course which ends up becoming “The course of the Year 2015″, and prizes drawn among the ones suggesting and voting. All prizes are transferable to other persons (you don’t have to travel yourself).

Event sponsor: Antalya Orienteering Festival 2016 – 29th October – 5th November

• Prize offered: One big Antalya O-Meeting package consisting of 2 complete Antalya Orienteering Festival packages: Accommodation + Entry for all 5 races + All Transfers + The program consisting of presentations held by Håkan Carlsson. Value about 495 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Antalya Orienteering Festival will be held for the 2nd time in Side by the Mediterranean coast of Antalya, Turkey. We provide 5 different terrains and challenging courses, good maps and good weather for orienteering holiday. Swedish National Team Head Coach Håkan Carlsson will join us for analysis and lectures about Sports psychology & Mental training. See more at www.antalyaofest.com

Event sponsor: Fjord-O 2016 – 13th – 17th July

• Prize offered: 3 packages – each for 2 persons – for the full Fjord-O 2016 consisting of entry for 4 races in beautiful terrain with fjord view.  Value about 450 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• The race courses are set among the most spectacular sceneries in «Fjord Norway», with the slogan «with a view to the fjord». Fjord-O Vest is 4 days of competitions allowing time for you to explore the beautiful nature in this area during your holiday. Stryn and Ålesund have many exciting attractions such as the Jugend town of Ålesund, the Geiranger Fjord, a hike up the longest uphill track in Norway to the Skåla summit at 1849 above the sea level or a visit to the famous Briksdal Glacier. See more at fjord-o.no.

Event sponsor: Portugal “O” Meeting 2016 – February 5th-9th 2016

• Prize offered: 4 packages – each for 2 persons – transferable to other person. Consisting of entry to complete 4 day Portugal “O” Meeting 2016 – 4 official races + 1 Urban Night (Middle, Urban Nigth, Middle, Long-WRE, Long). Value about 390 EUR.
• POM is the world’s biggest winter time orienteering event, and is considered by many as the official opening of the competition season for its high quality organization and for receiving the top runners of the world. We expect to have 2000+ runners – last year POM had 2300 runners! Besides new maps, challenging terrains and courses you’ll be able to experience the rich gastronomy, as the famous cheese, olive oil and honey (considered among the best in the world). Have a chance to enjoy the friendship of locals and explore the beautiful and untouched nature. The WRE day will be the long distance on 8th Feb.More at  http://www.pom.pt.

Event sponsor: Slovak Karst Cup 2016. 21st-24th July 2016

• Prize offered: 3 packages for 2 people – each consisting of: entry for 4 competitions (2xmiddle, 2x shortened long), accommodation for 4 nights in camping, 3 training maps, Event T-shirts and headtube.
  Value about  360  Euro, transferable to other person(s).
• Slovak Karst Cup is the favorite multiday o-event in Slovakia. It is usually organized in karst terrains of Silická planina (plateau) or Plesivecka planina (plateau), which are located in National park Slovenský kras. You can find many depressions, mixed forest, semiopen or open areas there. And also lots of natural and historical attractions in surroundings after competition. For Karst Cup 2016 we have chosen one of the most attractive terrains, which where used partly for JWOC 2012 (open or semiopen areas of Silická planina) and fully for WUOC 2006 (forest area of Plešivecká planina). The competition can be a very good opportunity for training for WUOC 2016 participiants. More at http://www.tuke.sk/obeh/karst

Event sponsor: SIVEN MOC 2016 – March 4th – March 10th 2016

• Prize offered: Full package for 1 person consisting in package for SIVEN MOC camp + entry fee for SIVEN MOC Championship in Bulgaria – March 2016. The package includes 7 trainings as shown on the program, 3 competitions of MOC Championship, 8 nights accommodation. Value about 349 Euro. Transferable to other person. 
• XIV edition of MOC, with main sponsor SIVEN, for the first time in Bulgaria. Event centre in Bansko. Find your Bulgaria! MOC stands for Mediteranian Orienteering Championship – MOC is an annual event organized at the beginning of spring season, in southern countries with softer climate. More info at www.sivenmoc.com and www.orienteering.it

Event sponsor: Orievents / NAOM 2016. 13th – 14th February 2016

• Prize offered: Competition + training package for 2 persons, consisting of: Entry for NAOM 2016 (13February  2016 –  Middle distance + Night Sprint ; 14 February – Middle Distance WRE) +  training camp (6 trainings) + 3 days of accommodation in half board. Value about 320 Euro. Transferable to other persons.
• Orievents / GD4C’s Training Camps “Alto Alentejo” are an excellent training opportunity for Orienteering of good quality during the winter. Start the new season in training camps in Alto Alentejo, Portugal! More at www.naom.pt and about the training camp at Orievents.

Event sponsor: Lipica Open 2016. 12th – 16th March

• Prize offered: 2 packages – each for 2 people – consisting of: Entry to complete Lipica Open competition + hard floor accommodation in Postojna. Value about 320 euro. Transferable to other persons.
• In 2016 Lipica open will again be organized as a 5 day event. Again some great terrains! Training conditions in this part of Europe are now better than ever – both on forest maps and on sprint maps of nice little towns on the Adriatic coast! More at www.lipicaopen.com